2015 was quite a surprisingly good year for Finnish Rock, as there were a few releases from a few Finnish bands that I genuinely enjoyed. There were probably a couple I didn't like or was unsure of, but I thought that overall some good music was released from Finland in 2015. Even though we are now in 2016 and a new year of music, we must go back in time to 2015 once more to review the second EP from a Finnish Melodic Rock group called BURNTFIELD.

Formed in Helsinki in Finland in late 2012, this quartet of Melodic Rock musicians released their debut EP, "Organic Waves", in 2013 followed by a digital single "Let It Die Away" in 2014. After a couple of member changes, the group headed back into the studio to record their second EP and the subject of this review "Cold Heat", so let us see what this sounds like, as I have high expectations what with it being classified as a Melodic Rock release.

Clocking in at around 23 minutes, across 4 songs, the new BURNTFIELD EP starts off with a heavy number in the form of "Deal With It", followed by the slower paced "Q&A", the somewhat cheerful "Under the Dome" and closing off with the somewhat relaxing, "How Lucky". Even though this EP is only 4 songs long, you'd think talking about it would be a piece of cake, but alas, it is not that simple.

I think my main gripe with this EP is just the overall feel of the melodies, which seem to be very mixed depending on the song. The melodies, the mixing and the structure of the songs are okay but the music feels like it does drag on a bit on the longer songs. This is notably present at least twice in the second and fourth songs, where the long length makes the music feels like it's dragging on a bit, to the point where it gets a little boring.

Also, the vocals do sound a little out of place in most parts of the songs, most notably the two long songs as in places, the melodies clash therefore making the words hard to hear, but then the performance is not too great as it sounds a little off to me.

The music as a whole, including the mixing, songwriting, melodies and the performance just feels a little too lifeless for my taste. Also, it feels like it drags on too long on the longer songs, and the shorter songs are okay, but I wish there was a little bit more oomph in them to make them more enjoyable.

Bottom line, the new BURNTFIELD EP is okay for what it is, but it does have its fair share of problems, which are most likely more then enough to put the listener off. I mean there may be those who do like it, and fair play to them if they do, but for me as a whole, it just did not sit with me. This is probably the one, and I hope the only time, that a Melodic Rock album has been capable of sounding mediocre.<